African Feng Shui: Infuse Your Space with Medicine Art and Ancestral Wisdom
"I hung three pieces of art, and the air in the room changed. I didn't have the words for it yet, but the spirit of the Dagara had entered the space."
In December 2022, I purchased the original canvases of three of Oumarou’s pieces: The King of Diviners, The King of Kontomble, and The King of Medicine. At the time, I didn’t know Oumarou personally. I didn’t know the names of the pieces, the stories they carried. I had no way of knowing the profound journey that was about to unfold.
But somehow the room knew. When I hung these three piece on the wall, my Divination practice and my shrine room underwent an immediate, undeniable energetic shift. The room felt alive when I entered. This was more than artwork. It was a living messenger of Dagara wisdom.
This was the genesis of From The Ashes—a realization that certain objects are not just decor, but Spiritual Technology.
What is African Feng Shui?
While traditional Feng Shui focuses on the flow of Qi, the Dagara-inspired approach focuses on Ancestral Frequency.
In the Dagara tradition of West Africa, ash is known as the most potent offering to the Ancestors because it is the only thing fire cannot eat. Ash is the immutable essence that remains after all else is consumed by the fires of transformation.
Placing this Medicine Art on your walls, becomes an ongoing "ash" offering for your home. Created in Burkina Faso, the home of Dagara medicine, by a Dagara artist, with the intention of sharing Dagara medicine with the world - this artwork is truly alive with the Ancestral frequencies of Dagara wisdom.
It is a tool for spatial medicine, designed to ground your sanctuary in a world that feels increasingly unmoored. By placing these artwork relics intentionally, you are doing more than decorating; you are assembling a high-vibration container for:
Grounding Energy: Creating a home that feels like an ancestral embrace, bringing calmness and centeredness that facilitates nervous system regulation.
Spiritual Sovereignty: The artwork itself expresses clear, loving boundaries ensuring the energy that enters into your space is aligned with your intentions.
Radical Authenticity: Surrounding yourself with truths that fire cannot destroy. The artwork carries its own stories, which it will transmit to you directly.
The Master Behind the Medicine: Oumarou Traoré
The Dagara Collection is a collaboration with Oumarou Traoré, a self-taught artist and "Culture Warrior" from Dano, Burkina Faso.
For two decades, Traoré has refined a style that fuses Fauvism, Expressionism, and Abstract Art to document the unseen dimensions of life. He creates "ghostly, otherworldly forms" that act as portals for raising consciousness.
His work is a form of collective memory. Whether exploring themes of peace or the "insecurity" of Burkina Faso’s and the world’s modern times, Oumarou’s artwork capture the spiritual connotations of daily life, transforming them into a legacy of sight.
Practicing African Feng Shui: How to Harmonize Ancestral Frequencies
It is common when a person begins to deepen their journey with Dagara Divination Medicine, that they will be asked to create a shrine to their Ancestors. Men will often be asked to begin with a Grandfather’s Shrine, while Women often begin with a Grandmother’s Shrine.
The instructions for shrine building include some traditional elements, but the most potent and elusive of instructions, is to simple “listen for what your Ancestors are asking to be included in their Shrine.” Perhaps a feather you collected in the forest comes to mind, or you may notice a stone on your path that just feels familiar.
If you’re exploring this page, your journey with this Medicine Art is already beginning, so to practice African Feng Shui, listen inwardly, notice which piece is calling to your heart, and inquire if there is a particular Ancestor or energy in your lineage that seems to be most activated when you meditate on the image.
To infuse your space with this ancient wisdom, consider the "functional medicine" of each piece:
The Entrance (Filtering): Transform the entrance of your home into an energetic filter with a piece like The King of Medicine or the Crocodile Water Spirit, creating a sanctuary of high-integrity presence.
The Workspace (Inspiring): Use abstract forms to inspire discernment and clarity in your professional leadership, like the Power of Fire, or Power of the Water Spirit pieces.
The Shrine (Connecting): Infuse your spiritual practice with Ancestral frequencies deepening connection to the seen and unseen dimensions with a piece like Zoun or Mami Wata.
A Sacred Effort to Open the Way
From The Ashes is a living library and a sacred offering. We began with 3 canvases and a dream to bring the earth-based animistic wisdom of the Dagara people to the modern world.
Our collection now includes 22 pieces, and your support will help us to expand even more! When you bring a piece of the Dagara Collection into your life, you are participating in the renewal of ancient wisdom traditions.
The fire is temporary. The rebirth from the ashes is eternal.
Artwork Description:
Argala: Protector & Guide
In the words of the artist, Mr. Traore, “Argala is a mystical bird that symbolizes freedom, hope, and new beginnings, and also represents joy, peace, and prosperity. Argala is called forth to bring courage, strength, and intelligence for those calling in support.”
The Dagara people, deeply connected to nature and the spiritual world, often embed their cosmological beliefs in symbols derived from the natural world. Argala is a mystical and powerful entity in their belief system representing an intermediary between humans and the divine.
The presence of Argala in Dagara mythology symbolizes a connection to higher wisdom and the ability to see beyond the ordinary, as birds are often seen as creatures that can transcend the boundaries of earth and sky. Argala, therefore, represents a bridge to spiritual knowledge and a guide for those seeking to connect with the divine.
Argala is also associated with transformation and protection. As a bird that can traverse great distances and soar to great heights, it symbolizes the ability to rise above challenges and gain a broader perspective on life. The mystical nature of Argala also imbues it with protective qualities, watching over those on a spiritual journey or those seeking to understand deeper truths.
Medicine Art Perspective:
Adding this Argala Dagara Medicine Art piece to your collection will add a unique vibrant beauty to your home, altar, or shrine room while infusing your space with the powerful energies of deep vision, transformation, and communication with the unseen realms. Argala brings the essence of divine guidance and protection and serves as a messenger between the worlds. If you’re desiring deeper insights into the spiritual realm, or looking for an archetypal image to inspire a more expansive vision of the transformational possibilities your future holds, look no further!